The city’s emergency dispatchers union is voicing concerns about “chronic understaffing” at Meriden’s dispatch center, which it says has required dispatchers to work “72- to 88-hour workweeks with no breaks or time off for rest.”
There are currently seven public safety dispatchers handling shifts at the center inside the police station, a shortfall of 11 positions based on the city’s budget, according to a statement issued by the dispatcher union late afternoon Monday.
“This is a public safety crisis,” said Elizabeth Marotti, a veteran dispatcher and president of Local 1303-405 of AFSCME Council 4. “Short staffing puts dispatchers and the community we serve at risk. Plus, we need to recruit and retain dispatchers for the future.”